1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a seal arrangement for sealing off at least one radial interspace between at least one inner bearing ring and at least one outer bearing ring. It relates more particularly to a seal arrangement provided with at least one first carrier, the first carrier carrying at least one resilient seal, and a second carrier, the second carrier carrying at least one encoder, and the encoder having an outwardly oriented circumferential surface shaped as a truncated circular cone.
An encoder on a seal of a known type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,814 B1. U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,814 B1 discusses a problem of limited available space for the installation of a seal arrangement with an encoder on the bearing. The problem is circumvented in that example by an enlarged magnetized active surface and, optionally, by arranging the encoder radially on the outside of the outer ring.
However, this solution is still only partly effective because of the limited radial space between the inner bearing ring and the outer bearing ring. Further, an encoder cannot be arranged radially on the outside of the outer bearing ring in every case, since, because of the connecting structures, no space or too little space is frequently available for such an arrangement. In addition, an encoder arranged radially on the outer bearing ring can be integrated only with difficulty into a seal constructed as one structural unit. A seal of this type becomes very complicated, is difficult to install, and does not provide sufficient protection for the encoder against environmental influences.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,814 B1 also describes some advantages provided by the polarization of an encoder with a circumferential surface in the shape of a truncated circular cone, as compared with the polarization of circularly cylindrical and outwardly oriented active outer surfaces.